Perforated music-sheet.



G. B. KELLY.

PERFORMED MUSIC SHEET. 7

APPLICATION FILED 05027.1913. RENEWED MAY 16. 1916.

1,209,714. Pa tented Dec. 26,1916.

f9. 4 7% In ventor:

by Zamy UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE B. KELLY, OF JAMAICA PLAIN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AEOLIANCOMPANY, OF GARWOOD, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

PERFORATED MUSIC-SHEET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented-Dec. 26, 1916.

Applicationflled December 27, 1913, Serial No. 808,983. Renewed May 16,1916 Serial No. 97,956.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. KELLY, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Jamaica Plain, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPerforated Music-Sheets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in perforatedmusic sheets adapted for use in automatic playing attachments forpianos, organs and like instruments and particularly to improvements insuch sheets which are to be used for the purpose of playing theaccompaniment on a piano, organ or like instrument to a melody orcomposition, either vocal or instrumental produced by means of aphonograph or talking machine.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved perforatedmusic sheet which makes it possible to control the relation of speed ofmovement between the record disk of the phonograph or talking machineand of the perforated music sheet for controlling the accompanyinginstrument,

in such manner that the above mentioned perfect accompaniment isobtained.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown one embodiment of my new andimproved perforated music sheet.

In making this sheet the phonograph or talking machine disk, or record,of the desired selection which may be either vocal or instrumental, isplaced into the phonograph or talking machine and brought into operativeposition for playing. An accompanist manually plays the accompaniment tothe slection being then reproduced by the phonograph or talking machine,on a piano or organ, which is in operative connection with a recordingdevice which automatically cuts slots or longitudinal lines orperforations on the paper music sheet record running at a determinedspeed so that a perfect record of the notes sounded by the accompanistorgan or piano is thus produced in perfect synchronism with thephonograph. In order to reproduce such synchronism while automaticallyplaying these two records it is necessary that at all times a correctionin the relation of the speeds of the motor of the talking machine orphonograph and of the sheet moving motor of the automatic playingattachment should be made. In order that such correction may take placeit is necessary that the record music sheet, on which the record of thenotes played on the piano or organ during manual accompaniment should beprovided with suitable indiciawhich form a permanent indication ormarking on that sheet to show that the phonograph disk or record hasmade certain progress. If such a perforated recording sheet, having theabove mentioned indicia, is placed in operative position in a playingattachment and the speed of the perforated sheet moving motor in theplaying attachment is so adjusted that the indicia will appear at acertain predetermined point, for example, the center of the trackerboard, at precisely the same time that the record has made certainprogress, precisely the same synchronism will be obtained which existedbetween the record sheet and the talking machine or phonograph disk atthe time at which this record music sheet was made. I call attention tothe fact that the speed of the record disk cannot and must not bedisturbed as that would instantly change the pitch, and, would make thereproduction of the selection unmusical and therefore whatever changesin speed. are made must be made in the motor for moving the perforatedrecord music sheet and 1f the several mdlcia appear at the abovementioned mark, say the center of the tracker board, precisely at theinstant when the record disk has made a certain progress no correctionin the speed of the sheet moving device is required.

I have referred to a mark or line at the center of the tracker board asone of the many ways of ascertaining the speed of the sheet. The recordsupport may be provided with similar indicia or may operate anothermovable part carrying indicia which show the speed of the recordsupport, for instance, as shown in my application Ser. No. 735,195,filed December (S, 1912. From the above it will be clear that theindicia on the perforated note sheet have a permanent, unalterable andunchangeable relation to the note slots produced on the record sheet bythe recording device, for example, one of the indicia 2 on the sheet 1may be produced on the record sheet automatically by a device operatedfrom the record support at the precise time when the record disk hasmade certain progress and at the same time the three note slots 4:, 5and 6 are produced by the recording device on the record sheet, that isto say, the front ends of these slots are begun at the instant when themark 2 is made on the sheet by mechanism operated from the record disksupport. Therefore if the perforated music sheet is in such positionthat the index mark 2 is at the center of the tracker board at preciselythe same time that the forward ends of the slots at, 5, and 6 arrive atthe corresponding ducts in the tracker board, the same sounds will beproduced by the piano or organ, at precisely the same time, in relationto the melody produced by the record disk as were produced by the pianoor organ when played manually for aroducing the accompaniment and makingthe record of the notes which were sounded at the same time with theabove mentioned sounds produced by the phonograph or talking machine. Ittherefore is clear that the indicia in the perforated music sheet, inorder to maintain the desired results cannot be subsequently applied orproduced manually, as it would be impossible to obtain that absolutelystrict relation which they must have to the note slots, as has beenexplained above. The vital feature of this perforated music sheet istherefore that the indicia on the sheet must bear the same relation tothe music slots in the sheet that the rotation or progress of thephonograph or talking machine record bore to the production of thesounds manually by the accompanist on the piano or organ, and only suchperforated music sheet in which this absolute and strict relation ismaintained is capable of perfectly causing the reproduction, by means ofa perforated music sheet, of the accompaniment on the piano or organ ofthe selection reproduced by the talking machine or phonograph.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 1-- l. A perforated music sheet in which theperforations control the playing on a piano of a portion of a musicalcomposition, these perforations being so located as to bear a fixedrelation to the musical composition of a particular phonographic record,and also provided with indicia indicating the progress of the rotatingphonographic record, substantially as set forth.

2. A perforated music sheet provided with indicia produced on the sameto. indicate rotations of a phonograph disk or record and which indiciahave precisely the same relation to the music slots in said perforatedsheet as the rotations of the phonograph or talking machine record hadto the musical sounds manually produced on a piano or organ whileaccompanying the melody produced by the phonographic record disk duringsuch rotations of the record disk while the accompanin'ient was beingplayed manually, substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of New Yorkthis 29th day of October A. D. 1913.

GEORGE R. KELLY.

\Vitnesses EDITH L. RoBINsoN, D. C. HEINS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

